Lion Productions US 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: A veritable sonic warhammer in the unconscious sub-terrain that is British hard rock, Jerusalem's self-titled record was first released in 1972, yet came reissued in 2021 via Lion Productions in the run-up to its almost full half-century anniversary. Fronted by Deep Purple's very own Ian Gillan, Jerusalem's brand of proto-heavy metal was raw and razor-edged in sound, with very little effects or treatment applied to its instrumental parts, a flex that signifies pure talent. Gillan's vocals on the likes of 'Frustration' and 'Primitive Man', the album's highlights, are snarly but tempered by a real 'down for it' emotion, as propulsive electric strums abound in the surround mix, nailing the album's overarching theme of sexuality and tantalisation.

Review: Smoked-out Texan psych troupe Khruangbin have picked a pretty apt moment to release this recording of their live show at Villain, Brooklyn. For starters, it's summer 2020, and if it weren't for a global pandemic there's a good chance a few of us would be recovering from the night before to a late-afternoon, or better yet early-evening performance from this lot at some festival or other. Secondly, because of said health crisis, we're all starved of the unique qualities that come from a band playing in the flesh. Dinner is definitely served here, then, via generous helpings of Laura Lee's bass-laden grooves and gorgeous, intoxicatingly airy vocal delivery. First laid down in 2018, when Khruangbin were touring in support of their second album, while 'Con Todo El Mundo' provides the majority of musical moments here, really 'Live At Villain' is a self-contained record - an hour or so of the band's typically magical and engrossing stage stuff, captured for keeps.